FORMULA 1 - 2012

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VETTEL BACK IN THE GAME AS SPOTLIGHT FALLS ON RELIABILITY & DEVELOPMENT:

The constant push for Innovation in F1 always needs to be tempered with the requirement for the cars to be reliable.

And it’s also vital in a fast evolving competition like F1 that any development steps the teams bring to the cars do actually provide the boost in performance they are intended to.

In Singapore we saw both sides of this as McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton suffered a gearbox failure and lost what looked like a certain race win, which would have allowed him to close the gap on championship leader Fernando Alonso. It was the fourth retirement on technical grounds this season for the McLaren team.

With things as finely balanced as they are, the win would have brought Hamilton to within 25 points of Alonso with six races to go; instead he is now 52 points behind him.

Alonso is averaging 13.8 points per race this season. If he carries that through to the end of the season, he will have 277 points. Hamilton will therefore need to drop no more than 14 points in the next six races to beat that. He has to rely on a retirement for Alonso.

Meanwhile Ferrari brought new parts to Singapore, including a new rear wing, which failed to improve the car’s performance. The new rear wing was removed from the car after practice on Friday and the two Ferrari drivers used the Hungary specification high downforce wing for qualifying and the race.

Nevertheless, Alonso showed his usual consistency and bagged another 15 points, but it’s worth noting that the Ferrari has also been very reliable and these two factors are making all the difference this year.

“We cannot keep relying on the retirements of our rivals,” said Alonso after the race, suggesting that Ferrari urgently needs to find performance for the final title run-in. He knows full well that Singapore race winner Sebastian Vettel, is now his main championship challenger, only 29 points behind. He needs to score five points more than Alonso at every round in order to win the title. With two competitive McLarens at the front mixing it up, that is eminently possible, but the difference between second and third place is only 3 points, so Vettel really needs some wins or podiums with Alonso among the also rans.

Red Bull, in recent years considered the most innovative of all F1 teams, has struggled this year to make its mark technically, having had some of its innovations refused by the governing body, in areas like engine mapping and brake ducts.

There have been, essentially, four different versions of the car this year, but the one they have now is starting to look like the definitive version. This weekend Red Bull had some exciting new parts, including new front and rear wings and updated rear suspension and these all worked as planned, putting them back on the pace at the front.

However Red Bull, like McLaren, has also had its share of reliability issues this season. Webber has suffered a series of gearbox problems while Sebastian Vettel lost a likely win in Valencia with an alternator failure and lost a possible sixth place in Monza with the same fault.

In the late 1990s F1 moved towards quality control processes imported from industry and these led to a sea change in the reliability of the cars. With most of the competitive cars now finishing every race, technical failures carry a very heavy penalty, as Hamilton knows all too well after Singapore.

The cars have up to 2,000 sensors on them, providing real time data. Problems like Hamilton’s gearbox failure can be seen by the engineers on the telemetry as they develop.

There was nothing the engineers could do to remedy the situation remotely; they were forced to simply watch helplessly as the car headed towards another technical failure.

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HOW THE SAFETY CAR ROBBED US OF A THRILLING SHOWDOWN IN SINGAPORE:

The Singapore Grand Prix can definitely be classed as a “what might have been” race, as the intervention of two safety cars meant that we were denied an exciting and unpredictable finish. Also the retirements of Lewis Hamilton and Pastor Maldonado spoiled what would have been intense competition at the front.

None of this will have bothered Sebastian Vettel, who took his second win of the season, nor Fernando Alonso, who extended his championship lead over all his rivals bar Vettel.

But despite the anti-climactic ending, the strategy decisions and factors that shaped the race are very interesting and worth a deeper analysis.

Pre-race expectations

One of the key factors in the weekend was that the gap in performance between the Pirelli soft and supersoft tyres was greater than expected. In qualifying it was as much as 1.6 seconds on some cars. In the race, many teams found that the soft tyres were not working to the optimum; they were designed to be more resistant to high temperatures, but didn’t perform on the slippery surface.

Degradation was always going to be the limiting factor in Singapore, especially with the rear tyres, so the opening stint was crucial. Everyone expected high degradation in the opening stint. Teams which were unable to get to around lap 13 or 14 on the set of used supersofts from qualifying were going to have to stop three times. And as the pit lane in Singapore is the slowest of the year at 29 seconds, there was a premium to being able to extend the tyre life and do it in two stops.

So most of the top teams went out at the start aiming to do two stops but waiting to see how bad the tyre degradation would be in reality. Among the rival team strategists there was a suspicion that Red Bull would put Mark Webber on a three stop strategy, as this would gather information on the supersoft tyres and once he moved onto the new softs, which would help Sebastian Vettel’s race effort.

Webber’s tyres were two laps older than Vettel’s so the team could monitor the degradation. However there were also signs that Webber had an over-steering car and this led to higher rear tyre degradation, so he was obliged to do a three stop in any case.

Second Safety car spoils the show

There is always a safety car at Singapore and this year we had two. The first, on lap 33 for Narain Karthikeyan, fell in the window for the second stops and lasted six laps. Most of the front runners took advantage of it to make a stop, although Fernando Alonso and Pastor Maldonado were slightly caught out by it as they had stopped five laps earlier.

But the second one, on lap 40 for Michael Schumacher hitting Jean Eric Vergne, really changed the game. It meant that the cars were able to spend another three laps at reduced speed, making it a total of nine laps behind the safety car. Add in the fact that because of the safety car delays the race ran to two hours and so only 59 of the 61 laps were covered and it meant an 18% reduction in the number of racing laps – a real boost for drivers who were gambling.

This saved quite a few cars, which would otherwise have run into serious trouble in the closing stages of the race without making a third stop.

We would have seen the cars with higher wear coming under pressure from those with better wear, as we saw in Valencia, for example and it would have made for a very exciting finish.

Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso certainly fall into this category. Vettel stopped on lap 10 with clear signs of tyre degradation and Alonso a lap later. Red Bull were on a three stop plan with Webber and may have been obliged to do the same with Vettel without the nine laps of safety car; it certainly helped them to make it to the end in two stops and it’s likely that Alonso would have had the same problem. Ferrari had some issues with overheating the rear tyres in Singapore, so the safety cars were a blessing.

In contrast Jenson Button had been conserving tyres in the opening stint and managed to get to lap 14 before the first stop.

He was preparing the ground for the end of the second stint and the end of the race, when he would be able to attack Vettel on tyres that were four laps newer. The McLaren seemed to be working very well in Singapore and even Hamilton would probably have made the finish in two stops, despite pushing hard in the opening stint and a front tyre issue that forced him to make his first stop on lap 12, slightly earlier than planned.

The first safety car took Button’s advantage away and the second one meant that Vettel had no tyre issues at the end.

Force India – strong result with one car, disappointment with the other

For the second year in a row in Singapore, Force India’s Paul di Resta got a very strong result, in this case a career best fourth place.

Di Resta is another driver who was able to make it safely with two stops; he pitted on lap 12 and then took advantage of the first safety car to stop a second time, losing only one track position to Alonso, who had already stopped. He followed him to the flag. He had stayed with the Ferrari for most of the race, but in the final stint the Ferrari was a little faster on the new soft tyres.

Without the second safety car Di Resta too might have struggled on 28 lap old tyres. Luckily for him there were no fast three stopping cars coming up behind. Di Resta benefitted from the Mercedes of Rosberg holding up cars behind him, in the run up to the second stop, creating a gap for him to drop back into.

Team mate Hulkenberg was one of those who tried a three stopper and lost out due to the second safety car.

Hulkenberg had qualified 11th and started on the soft tyre. His strategy was to run a long first stint but he lost time behind Raikkonen and Schumacher in the second stint, just before the safety car. The second safety car meant he couldn’t take advantage of track position and he stopped when it came out, then tried to do two ten lap sprints on new supersoft tyres, but it didn’t work out and he lost further track positions with a third stop on lap 50.

TYRE CHOICES, SINGAPORE

SS= Super soft; S = Soft; U = Used; N= New

Vettel: SSU SN (10) SN (33) 2

Button: SSU SN (14) SN (33) 2

Alonso: SSU SN (11) SN (29) 2

Di Resta: SSU SN (12) SN (33) 2

Rosberg: SSN SN (12) SN (33) 2

Räikkönen: SSU SN (13) SN (32) 2

Grosjean: SSU SN (14) SU (33) 2

Massa: SSU SN (1) SN (19) SSN (33) 3

Ricciardo: SSU SN (11) SN (31) 2

Webber: SSU SN (8) SSU (28) SU (40) 3

Perez: SN SN (18) SSN (40) 2

Glock: SN SSN (13) SN (25) 2

Kobayashi: SN SN (14) SSN (30) SSN (50) 3

Hülkenberg: SN SN (18) SSN (40) SSU (50) 3

Kovalainen: SSN SN (12) SSU (26) SSU (45) 3

Pic: SN SN (16) SSN (32) 2

De La Rosa: SN SSU (18) SN (30) SSN (40) 3

Senna: SSN SN (10) SSU (25) SN (33) 3

Petrov: SSN SN (1) SSU (18) SSU (30) SU (40) 4

RACE HISTORY, Courtesy of Williams F1 Team

The graph has been adapted to better reflect the safety car periods of the race. The zero line is the average of the winners’ race lap times, expressed as the same lap time every lap for reference.

Note the sudden drop off in pace on Vettel’s car in the first stint as the tyre degradation suddenly hits.

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Boss: Ferrari need better pace

Stefano Domenicali concedes Ferrari need to find some pace as while they could win the title without winning another race, a fourth triumph would help.

Despite leading the Drivers' Championship by 29 points over Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso has not won a grand prix since July's race in Germany.

It's a tentative situation for the Italian stable as their rivals Red Bull and McLaren have stormed ahead in terms of pace, leaving Ferrari to play catch-up.

"It is fundamental to give to Fernando an improved car in certain conditions," Domenicali told Autosport.

"We have to make sure that Fernando can win again up until the end, otherwise it [the title] will be very difficult.

"Then we would have to rely on the problems of the others, which is not the right thing to say or to do at the moment.

"[Winning the championship without winning another race is] not impossible, because you can never say never, but for us it is fundamental that he is able to win more races from here."

But while Ferrari may not have the pace, they have some of the best reliability with Alonso's only DNF of this season coming in Belgium when he was taken out by another driver. Other than that, the Spaniard's only issues have materialised in practices or qualifying.

The same, though, cannot be said of their rivals with both Red Bull and McLaren losing victories when their cars have failed.

"Reliability for me is the fundamental aspect up to the end of the season," Domenicali said.

"We know that we have suffered problems in Monza, we know we could have had some other problems in Singapore, so we need to wait and see, but this is a priority.

"We know that the points are the things that count so, if you have a reliability issue, we know at this stage of the season it [the penalty] is very heavy.

"Do not forget that now we are in a situation where the engine will be short for everyone - mileage will be important. So there is something on that side of the cake that is very, very crucial."

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Di Resta: I can step it up

Paul di Resta is confident he can move up another gear should he move to a bigger team, but he insists he is focusing on the "job at hand".

The Force India driver is coming off an impressive weekend in Singapore where he equalled his best start on the grid - a sixth place - and finished a career-high fourth.

Di Resta has been linked with possible moves to McLaren and Mercedes in recent months and the result will no doubt lead to an increase in speculation.

The 26-year-old Scot has no doubt that he can improve even further should he move to one of the bigger teams.

"I would like to think I am capable of stepping up to one of the bigger teams," said Di Resta.

"I have raced against the drivers at the top in the past and have had great battles with them and beaten them, but I'm not getting carried away.

"When the time is right hopefully someone will step up and give me the chance to do that because I want to be in a car that wins races week in, week out.

"I have worked with manufacturer teams before and there is a slight difference, but I will keep focusing on the job in hand just now because this is where my loyalties lie at the present.

"I enjoy being part of this team, even though it's hard work because the infrastructure we have is not quite what others have.

"But we've shown when you gather it all together you can get the performance, it's just making sure that happens weekend in and weekend out."

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'F1 has work to do in US'

McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh has warned the United States will prove a much tougher nut to crack than Asia as Formula One prepares for its latest bid to win over the huge potential market.

The glitzy, Europe-based motorsport heads to Austin, Texas, in November and will add New Jersey to its schedule next year, after successfully establishing itself in the Asia-Pacific region with seven races this year.

Singapore's night race has been guaranteed for another five years until 2017 and India made its debut on a purpose-built track last year, joining Australia, Japan, Malaysia, China and South Korea on the Asian circuit.

But Whitmarsh said Formula One may find the going tougher in the United States, where Formula One has a chequered history and will be competing with other motorsports. Austin will be America's first grand prix since 2007.

"We've got to recognise that we've got to work harder at it than probably any market we've worked at," Whitmarsh said during the Singapore Grand Prix race weekend.

"We go around parts of Asia, South America and Europe, one could plonk a grand prix down and there's a natural fanbase. It's been easy for us and I think we've taken it too easy.

"Whereas in America, they have lots of great sports they've got lots of entertainment opportunities other than Formula One.

"If we're going to go there and make a success of it we've really got to work hard on it and it'll take a few years to really catch on."

McLaren drivers Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton were both enthusiastic about the American races. Austin is known as a vibrant, young city, and New Jersey's race will have the Manhattan skyline as a spectacular backdrop.

"It's going to be great to go back to the States," said Hamilton.

"It's obviously such an important market for Formula One because there's so many people there that we need to turn to Formula One to show them that it's better racing than some of the other racing that they're watching, or as good."

But Whitmarsh said Formula One would have to take a more humble approach to overhaul America's home-grown IndyCar series, especially after incidents such as Indianapolis 2005, when most teams withdrew in a dispute over tyres.

"I think it's important to remember that America's important to us but America doesn't need us," Whitmarsh said.

"And therefore we've got to go there with the appropriate humility recognising that we haven't done the greatest job for Formula One there in the past, for a host of different reasons that we know of, from the tyre fiasco in Indianapolis and the venues we've been to, the inconsistency.

"I think we've got to go there now and have a proper five-year programme which is concentrating on getting people enthused about it."

Button said Austin was a good place for F1 to attempt to get a foothold.

"Having it in Austin is great because it's a very young city and that's what we need, to get young fans into the sport," Button said. "That's the way to grow the sport in the States and hopefully we will do that."

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'No money, no drive for Petrov'

Vitaly Petrov's manager has admitted that he will be without a drive in 2013 if he fails to come up with the right sponsorship.

The Russian was initially left without a drive for this season after Lotus dumped him, but he managed to secure a seat at Caterham after he came up with the right financial support.

However, he only signed a one-year deal with Caterham and he will once again need to come up with the right money to secure another contract.

His manager Oksana Kosachenko says they have halted talks about Petrov's future for the time being, but confirmed he will be without a seat if he doesn't find sponsors.

"We've taken a timeout now," she told RIA Novosti. "I need time to consolidate all our financial possibilities and understand if there's sense in continuing any talks.

"If there's no money, then there's no drive. I'm not prepared to hold talks all winter like last time."

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'McLaren up Hamilton offer'

McLaren are determined to hang onto Lewis Hamilton and the team have reportedly increased their contract offer to the 2008 World Champion.

Hamilton, whose deal with the Woking squad runs out at the end of the season, he has been strongly linked with a move to Mercedes with many claiming the German manufacturer are offering him a lot more cash than his current team.

The 27-year-old refused to discuss his future during the Singapore Grand Prix, but he is expected to make an announcement in the coming days.

McLaren's executives were in Singapore over the weekend and media reports suggest they have upped their offer.

Hamilton's current five-year deal is worth about £75million, or £15m a year, but McLaren's initial offer was thought to be well below that while Mercedes were willing to fork out more.

The Guardian though reports that 'McLaren have increased their offer to Lewis Hamilton in an attempt to see off a bid from Mercedes, placing an extra £2m a year on top of the £10m already on the table'.

It adds: 'According to sources at McLaren, the money on offer from Mercedes is not as substantial as the £20m a year that has been reported. It is fair to say that Mercedes, who hold a board meeting on Wednesday, have been prepared to match McLaren's terms, with more money on offer through image rights.'

Meanwhile, Formula One commercial rights holder Bernie Ecclestone believes Hamilton is not sure what to do.

"I don't think Hamilton knows what he will do," the F1 supremo is quoted as saying on ESPNF1.

"These last couple or three races he has been doing very well. Before that, why he was upset I don't know, but he was definitely going to move no matter what. He had made up his mind that he was going. Whether he has changed now a little bit I don't know."

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Ecclestone withdraws New Jersey GP contract

Serious doubts have been cast over whether or not the New Jersey Grand Prix will go ahead in 2013, after Bernie Ecclestone confirmed the race no longer has a contract.

The event, which is scheduled to join the calendar next season, is currently under construction and well advanced with pit buildings having been errected over the summer.

Ecclestone though says the organisers "have not complied with the terms and conditions of the contract which is now gone anyway.

"They don't have a contract," confirmed the 81-year-old.

A WMSC meeting is scheduled to take place on September 28th to finalise the 2013 calendar following the pre-release of a draft copy at the weekend in which New Jersey was marked as 'subject to confirmation'.

If a deal for a new contract isn't struck in the coming days, the event cannot be added to the calendar once it's been ratified.

"We are pretty close to the final deadline," added Ecclestone. "We have got a world council meeting coming up. I think if somebody got behind them it could happen in 2013 because they have come a long way with the circuit."

A similar fate fell upon the Austin GP last year, but a late deal meant it was confirmed on this years calendar and is set to go ahead on November 18th.

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COTA gets FIA approval following Whiting visit

The Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, has gained FIA approval following a visit by safety delegate Charlie Whiting on Tuesday.

With the final layer of asphalt having been laid last week in time for the inspection, the circuit has met the strict guidelines outlined by the governing body and has therefore gained the Grade 1 race license needed to host Formula 1.

After a two hour inspection Whiting declared himself happy with the construction progress and the overall quality of the track.

"The track design is fantastic, the quality of the workmanship is excellent and I have no concerns at all," he said.

"This will be a very unique Grand Prix and will be ready on time. Alot of types of corners that will provide a lot of overtaking opportunities," he added.

The race is set to debut on the calendar on November 18th, though a final FIA inspection will take place in November a few days before the race to ensure all facilities are up to standard.

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Glock almost missed 12th after hitting wall

Timo Glock revealed that he almost retired from the Singapore Grand Prix, which would have seen the outfit miss out on 12th position - the best result by any of the new teams to date.

The result moved Marussia ahead of Caterham in the contructors' standings which, if they can hold that position until the end of the season, would mean a far larger share of the prize money will come their way.

Glock though damaged his MR01 after hitting the wall, but battled to keep the car under control and managed to finish the race.

"It's fantastic," said the German. "I knew I had a chance against Caterham if we stayed close in the first stint and that's what I tried.

"Unfortunately, the rear tyre pressures came up a bit too much and I overshot the car in turn 19 and hit the wall. In the first moment I thought the race was over and I realised that the toe was really out; I had to change my driving style and, actually, changed everything that I could do to keep the car on track.

"Every time I had a left-hand corner I had massive problems, but in the end I kept pushing and just didn't want to give up. I had to save the car in every left-hand corner and at the end I think I did 40 laps on the prime tyres, which is incredible for us."

He praised the effort put in by the team and the developments brought to the race: "It's great for the team, it's paid off slowly and I think what we have achieved in the last three or four months in terms of development it's great for the team."

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Ferrari set to announce Massa for 2013

Ferrari is set to announce that Felipe Massa is staying with the famous Italian team in 2013.

Intense speculation has surrounded the future of the Brazilian, who since 2010 has struggled to shine alongside his highly rated teammate Fernando Alonso.

But in an article by veteran correspondent Roger Benoit, the Swiss newspaper Blick said the 31-year-old is staying put in the wake of his recent form surge.

"It (2013) will be his eighth season in red," wrote Benoit.

In Singapore last weekend, Alonso publicly backed Massa, deriding the "little names" that had been linked with his place for next season.

"With all the names you hear, if you compare what Felipe has done and what these little names have done ..." he said.

"In my opinion we need to have a driver that respects Ferrari, that respects the tradition that here we work for the team, for the red cars," added Alonso.

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Rosberg wants best race number at Mercedes in 2013

Nico Rosberg has refused to rule out pushing to be allocated the lower race number at Mercedes next year. Ever since teaming up with Michael Schumacher at the Brackley squad in 2010, the younger German has accepted the higher race number, despite always finishing higher in the previous year's points standings.

Normally, the driver best-placed in the previous year's championship gets the lower race number, but Schumacher always argued that he preferred an 'odd' number, mainly for reasons of superstition.

But Rosberg's reticence came back to bite him in Singapore this weekend, after both Mercedes cars stayed in the garage for strategic reasons during the decisive 'Q3' qualifying segment.

With laptimes unable to sort out the grid places of the two silver-clad drivers, the FIA had to revert to their race numbers to divide them.

And because Schumacher wears the number 7, and Rosberg the number 8, it was the seven time world champion who lined up ahead of 27-year-old Shanghai winner Rosberg.

"Given the outcome (for the grid placings) here, I would have preferred to have the lower starting number," Rosberg is quoted by German RTL television.

"For next year, we'll have to have a look at that (situation)," he admitted.

Rosberg is currently seventh in the 2012 standings, five places ahead of Schumacher.

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WHITING HAILS "FANTASTIC" CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS AS VENUE GETS THE GREEN LIGHT TO RACE:

The Circuit of the Americas in Austin has been given the definitive green light to stage its inaugural grand prix in November after passing the FIA’s mandatory inspection to gain its Formula 1 licence.

As is the compulsory practice for all new circuits joining the calendar, FIA technical delegate and race director Charlie Whiting visited the venue to inspect the facilities and track itself and was duly satisfied enough to give the circuit the ‘Grade 1’ status it requires to stage a grand prix.

As part of his inspection Whiting walked the now fully-paved 3.4-mile circuit and then around the pit and paddock building – all of which he described as being “fantastic”.

“Everything that I’ve seen so far has been absolutely first class, and the progress that’s been made since the last time that I was here is amazing,” Whiting said in a statement released by CoTA.

“The guys have done an awesome job – it really is quite fantastic! It’s built to the highest quality, exactly as we expected, and I’ve got absolutely no complaints whatsoever.”

Furthermore, Whiting views of the layout of the circuit itself chimed with the impression gleaned from the exclusive feature with the makers of the F1 2012 video game, Codemasters, on this website last month.

The virtual lap of the Hermann Tilke-designed track, which draws inspiration from circuits including Silverstone and Istanbul Park, suggested drivers were in for a challenging lap and the FIA chief agrees that there certainly are a handful of clear overtaking places – while the uphill run to the turn one left-hander certainly caught his eye.

“There are 3-4 corners that are very likely to see overtaking,” he said. “If you look at Turn 1, you’ll see that the turns have been designed so that they’re extremely wide and the apex is very short. It’s a very modern approach to slow corners where we hope overtaking will take place. So I’m very confident it will work well.

“Turn 1 is awesome! It’s the only word I can think of to describe it, and I think drivers and teams coming here for the first time will say the same thing.”

A final inspection of the facility to ensure the completion of the remaining ongoing landscaping and painting projects will take place on the Monday of grand prix weekend, with the race itself taking place on November 18.

Not yet seen the exclusive onboard lap on the new Austin circuit? Well then check out the video and commentary below to see the challenge that awaits the F1 drivers in November…

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VIDEO: FERRARI'S 5OOTH GP WITH SHELL:

Considering the Singapore GP is regarded as one of the most commercially significant events on the calendar it was somewhat apt that Ferrari and its most long-standing partner, Shell, celebrated their 500th race in partnership over the weekend.

To mark the occasion several events were held around the city from Thursday onwards, including Fernando Alonso performing a demonstration lap of Marina Bay in the Shell Performance Simulator (which you can watch here), while a specially-commissioned tribute video was also shown for the first time which looked back at the history of the two world-renowned brands in partnership.

The four-minute film, which we’ve made available for you below, features archived footage dating right back to the F1 World Championships early days in the 1950s and is intercepted with soundbites explaining the significance of the relationship between team and fuel supplier from famous Ferrari names past and present such as Luca di Montezemolo, Stefano Domenicali, John Surtees and the first man to win an F1 race for Ferrari, Argentine José Froilan Gonzalez.

Brief footage of the now 89-year-old’s victory at 1951 British Grand Prix, including his presentation of the winner’s trophy by the Queen, is also shown.

The clear message that comes out through the short film is how intrinsic the partnership between Ferrari and Shell is and how vital a part the latter has played in the team’s unrivalled success over the decades. As di Montezemolo himself says succinctly: “The Shell brand with the Prancing Horse is a good combination.”

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Australia wants to renew with reduced fee

The Melbourne government hopes to renew its contract to host the Australian Grand Prix, which is set to expire in 2015, but only under more favourable terms.

The event, according to Tourism Minister Louise Asher, receives a $56 million (£36m) subsidy from the government. Despite recouping this and many, many more millions through economic benefits, Asher says a new contract must be at a reduced cost as the current agreement is "too expensive for the taxpayer."

"I'd love to have the race beyond the 2015 contract, but the contract that we discuss has to present value for taxpayers and I'm not comfortable with this level of subsidy," she told The Age newspaper.

"The Brumby Labor government signed off on a contract that is too expensive for the taxpayer in my opinion. This is a very, very expensive race and I personally am not happy with this level of subsidy."

With the contract running for at least another three years, Asher expects the government will have to further increase its subsidy, despite higher ticket sales, unless measures to cut costs are put in place.

"You can reasonably expect that without significant further cost-cutting from the [Australian] Grand Prix Corporation, the subsidies will go up," she added.

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Alguersuari 'sure' he'll be racing in 2013

Jaime Alguersuari says he's 'sure he will be back driving in F1' next season, further supporting his earlier hint that he'll be on the grid in 2013.

"Soon you'll all know where I will be driving next year. Thank you all again," he posted on Twitter last week.

In his latest column for BBC Sport, the Spaniard revealed that he will be taking time out of his commentating role to focus on training for next year, adding that he was sure he'd be back racing.

"I have been really enjoying my commentary role this year but I won't be going to the next three races," wrote Alguersuari.

"It had been planned for some time. It's better for me to prepare for next year, to keep my training up, as I'm sure I will be back driving in F1."

The 22-year-old will be back in his commentary role for the final two races of the season - USA and Brazil.

Meanwhile he also has a Pirelli test coming up in a fortnight.

"I also have an important test with Pirelli in Paul Ricard, France, in two weeks' time, where we are going to be deciding on the specification of next year's wet tyres. Apart from that I will dedicate myself to training," he concluded.

MIKA: Caterham?

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Pastor: I can be competitive and clean

Pastor Maldonado believes he has proved that he can race "competitive and clean" when he is at the front of the pack.

The Williams driver's aggressive driving style has come under the spotlight on several occasions this season and many feared he would once again make headlines for all the wrong reasons in Singapore after he qualified on the front row of the grid.

Maldonado, though, stayed out of trouble on race day but sadly for him he was forced to retire with a hydraulic leak while running in the top five.

When asked by Autosport if he is happy to have shown he can race cleanly, he replied: "Yes. To be honest, I was living in a bad moment and I was involved in some accidents and it's difficult to say why.

"I've showed everyone that I can race well and be competitive and clean. It was a frustrating race, but at the same time I'm happy because of the pace that we showed, especially at the beginning."

Williams were the talk of the town when Maldonado won the Spanish Grand Prix from pole, but they have struggled to come close to matching that performance with the Venezuelan failing to score any points since that glorious day in Barcelona.

The team, though, have impressed in qualifying and Maldonado feels they have the pace to get back into the top 10 regularly.

"We have good potential," he said. "Maybe we don't have the best car all the way through the race, but we are always trying to improve.

"In Singapore, we had a great opportunity to be on the podium, but that's racing. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's not.

"We are living in some bad moments but we need to look forward. There are still races to go and we can recover. It's important to be calm."

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RBR hopeful over new alternators

Red Bull could use the new alternators tested by Renault in Singapore during the Japanese Grand Prix.

Sebastian Vettel was left frustrated in Italy a few weeks ago after his RB8 suffered a sudden loss of power during final practice and the race a day later.

Engine manufacturer Renault put his problems down to alternator failures and then tested new parts with Red Bull during Friday practice in Singapore over the weekend. The team switched back to the old specification on the Saturday and the Sunday with the latest specification sent for evaluation.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner says they are hopeful of using the new batch at Suzuka next weekend.

"I would hope we have them for the next race. I think Renault have got more dyno testing to run on them," Horner said.

"I think they have understood what the problem was with the [Jerome] d'Ambrosio failure because there was something left afterwards. So that has given some tell-tale signs of what to work on to rectify."

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German prosecutors prepare to charge Ecclestone

German prosecutors are closing in on F1's chief executive Bernie Ecclestone, according to the Suddeutsche Zeitung newspaper.

It has emerged that Ecclestone could soon be indicted after former F1 banker Gerhard Gribkowsky testified from behind bars that the 81-year-old Briton mockingly called him a "civil servant" amid the alleged bribery transactions of some years ago.

That would open Ecclestone to the serious charge of having knowingly bribed a public official.

Bild newspaper said prosecutor Thomas Steinkraus-Koch has confronted Ecclestone's lawyers with the outcome of the investigation and is awaiting a response.

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Japan visa problem for Chinese F1 driver

HRT's Chinese test driver Ma Qing Hua might have to sit out next weekend's Japanese grand prix.

According to Speed Week, the Spanish team intended the 24-year-old to drive Narain Karthikeyan's car during Friday morning practice at Suzuka next week.

But he is apparently having trouble securing a visa for entry to Japan.

China and Japan - Asia's two biggest economies - are locked in an escalating row over the disputed Diaoyu islands in the East China Sea.

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Ross Brawn says Michael Schumacher's future is still under discussion

Ross Brawn says a decision about Michael Schumacher's future in Formula 1 will be a tough one, as it awaits a final decision from Lewis Hamilton about his plans.

Hamilton is currently weighing up offers he has from Mercedes and McLaren, with both outfits now believed to be offering the same wages in a bid to win his services.

His final decision will have an impact on Schumacher's future, because if Hamilton elects to join Mercedes it will leave no space for the seven-time champion.

Brawn concedes that the situation is far from settled, and suggests the team is still aware of the benefits Schumacher brings despite his embarrassing exit from last weekend's Singapore Grand Prix.

Speaking about Schumacher's future on BBC Radio 5 Live on Thursday, Brawn said: "It's still under discussion, I'm afraid. I can't comment very much on that, but Michael's been a huge asset to the team, he's really taken us forward.

"I do think Michael contributes an awful lot, so I think the decision for Michael to stay or not continue is a difficult one. Obviously he's very involved in that decision, and discussions are ongoing at the moment."

Brawn said that it was possible a decision about who lines up alongside Nico Rosberg may not be made for some time, as he all but confirmed for the first time that the outfit was interested in Hamilton.

"I think any ambitious team looks at the top drivers and we're an ambitious team, but I think there's an awful lot of speculation," he said. "We will have some things to say in the next few weeks, next few months, and then all will become clear."

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Alain Prost to demo Red Bull F1 car at Paul Ricard

Four-time Formula 1 world champion Alain Prost will return to the wheel of a grand prix car when he drives Red Bull's RB6 at Paul Ricard this weekend.

The Frenchman will be in action in the 2010 title-winning car as part of the exhibitions organised for the World Series by Renault event at the circuit.

Prost returns to the French track a year after having entertained the crowd when he drove a Renault RE40 from 1983.

Lotus drivers Romain Grosjean and Jerome d'Ambrosio will also be taking part in the event, sharing driving duties in last year's R30 as well as the legendary Lotus Renault 98T once driven by Ayrton Senna.

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Thailand moves closer to Formula 1 grand prix deal

Thailand has moved a step closer hosting its first Formula 1 race after agreeing a deal in principle for a 2014 event.

After speculation earlier this year that the country was serious at bidding for an F1 race, a senior government official has revealed that he and representatives from Red Bull moved forward with their plans after meeting F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone in Singapore.

Kanokphand Chulakasem, governor of the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT), said that the provisional plan agreed with Ecclestone was for a night race to be held in Bangkok as early as 2014.

"It will be a city race like in Singapore and Monaco. It will be a night race like the Singapore Grand Prix," he was quoted as saying by the Bangkok Post.

The discussions still have some way to go before becoming official, with Chulakasem stating that a race fee had yet to be agreed.

The Thai government has promised to fund 60 per cent of the total cost of the race, however, with the rest coming from local sponsors like Red Bull and Singha.

Red Bull driver Mark Webber attracted over 100,000 people during a street demo on the streets of Thailand in 2010.

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Williams confirm cause of Senna burns

Team clarify that a faulty wiring seal caused burns on Brazilian's back

Williams have confirmed that a loose wiring loom seal caused the burns on Bruno Senna's back in the Singapore Grand Prix.

The Brazilian driver retired in the closing stages of last Sunday's night race with a suspected KERS failure, and amid investigations as to what caused that fault, the Grove-based team also revealed on Wednesday that a separate investigation was ongoing regarding some burns Senna suffered to his back.

The team have now confirmed the cause of those burns, tweeting on Thursday morning: "To confirm, Bruno's burns were due to a wiring loom seal coming loose in the seat allowing heat from back of car to escape-not KERS related," the team tweeted.

Senna himself took to Twitter on Thursday morning to reassure his followers that the burns were relatively minor and had already all-but cleared up.

"Hey everyone. The burns on my back weren't serious and are pretty much healed," the Brazilian wrote.

"Today I'm at Williams F1 for some simulator work."

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'Double DRS' has slowed Lotus' development - Salo

Lotus may have ploughed too much effort into its 'double DRS' system.

That is the claim of former Finnish F1 driver Mika Salo, who is worried his countryman Kimi Raikkonen could lose his shot at the 2012 title.

Usually a front-runner this season and still in the hunt for the title, Raikkonen qualified a poor twelfth in Singapore before battling up to sixth at the finish.

Lotus has been pushing hard to ready its straightline speed-boosting 'double DRS' concept, which could finally make its grand prix debut at Suzuka next weekend.

"If the developments do not work in Japan, they will fall out of the championship battle," former Sauber and Toyota driver Salo told the Finnish broadcaster MTV3.

"I think it's likely that they have focused so much on the double DRS that many other things have been missed, and it has slowed down the development of the car overall," he said.